Hurricane Irene: Warren Shoppers Mostly Prepared for Storm

Glenview Drive resident Roberta Krumholz had done most of her storm shopping Thursday, but on Friday morning, she was back out—stocking on supplies for her son.

"It's more fun this way," she said, loading water and food into her vehicle after shopping at the Kings grocery store.

She said she had purchased flashlights at Warrenville Hardware—and had a special housewarming gift for her son: a sump pump.

"They just bought a house in Monroe and closed yesterday," she said.

As for her own stockpiling, Krumholz said she had Sterno canisters, to use for cooking if necessary, Parmelat milk and flashlights.

Warren stores were doing a brisk business Friday morning, and while the shelves of bottled water were holding up at Kings, the A&P store inventory had been depleted Thursday. The store is expecting a shipment of bottled water and more items today or early Saturday, managers said.

At Walgreen's, bottled water was available in 5-gal. bottles, as well as cases (about 26 as of 11 a.m.) and six-packs—but like the other stores, "D" cell batteries were not available.

But not everyone shopping Friday was stocking up for the weekend.

"I don't think it's going to be all that people are making to out to be," Green Brook resident Lois Ann Ziemba said.

She added that she thinks much of the advance warning and preparations are the result of the failure to plan and prepare for 2005's Hurricane Katrina, and the subsequent deaths and problems in New Orleans.  

But she added that it's not necessarily bad to have all the warnings.

"I think it's better they're overdoing it—otherwise, people would complain that no one told us," she added.

Or as Krumholz put it: "It's the old 'better-safe-than-sorry' routine."